01/08/2006
Dear Arlette
Just a short e-mail to say thank you to your husband for such
a wonderful week at Frensham.
I really enjoyed meeting so many new and wonderful people and
it was great to have the opportunity to work with William and conduct the orchestra.
I did give Ashley some photo's but since
coming home I have edited and improved many of my pictures.
I will post you a CD of them so you can use
them if you need to.
Once again thank you.
Every blessing
Alan Combes Conducting Course
01/08/2006
Dear Arlette
Just to say thank you for allowing Stefan the Anne-Sophie Herrenschmidt
Scholarship
Without it he would not have been able to come
He had a wonderful time and made some wonderful friends
He also grew extremely fond of both Jean-Luc Borsarello and Alain Villard
and was very sad to say good-bye to both.
When he got home he has a letter from his piano treachery, who is 84
years old saying that he passed Grade 7 piano with distinction, which was
wonderful because he has only been playing the piano for the past 2and half
years.
He was so sad to leave everyone that Saturday; I n fact I ‘ve never seen
Stefan so upset, he fell asleep in the car, tears still running down his face. It
was a log journey home and we arrived back late at 3.30am.
We cannot say thank you enough, Arlette. You do a wonderful job.
We are trying to save every hard for next year because I know how much
Stefan wants to come back.
We all enjoyed the concert very much, it was a lovely evening and very
emotional because Stefan was about playing his violin without score and also he
‘s never played the piano in public before, because he never though he was good
enough.
It was a very difficult thing
for him to do, but he did it and we thought very well
Best wishes Glenn, Barry and Stefan Spencer
Kingsley
Stoke on Trent
Dear Arlette,
We miss you and all the time spent in Frensham but we will have a big treasure
inside us
. In Italian we say: abbiamo fatto una
esperienza molto arricchente.
Yours
Stefania Jade Trucchi
Main course and Peter Pan Course
Thank you for giving me such a
wonderful opportunity to work with some of the most internationally respected
musicians and for giving me the honour of teaching such adorable children!
I had a truly fantastic time on LMFL and the experience has inspired me to
continue working to the best of my ability with both my teaching and my
playing.
Of course, meeting Vera has been one of the highlights too. I have already
booked a flight to Czech Republic for a weekend in November to study with her.
I will send you a CD of my photos as soon as I fix the CD rive in my computer!
I have been trying and haven't yet succeeded... I may need to call a
technician!
Thank you again and I look forward to the next one!
Love Nadine x
Hi Arlette,
How are you after another summer course? I hope you are feeling well and you are resting. I am only writing few words to let you know how happy I have felt this year there.
Personally I
think it has been the best year in all aspects. I am not only happy
because I really have worked hard
(something I enjoy doing it), but because the quality of the concerts.
I think the teachers concert has been the best in all these years, quality pieces and short (the idea of including Letizia in it I think it was great and I hope she continues singing in the teachers concert in future summer courses). Also the kids concert was great, the idea of doing one for the Peter Pan Course before lunch was fantastic as good as living for after dinner the best students.
I do not have any negative point (apart of the food) about the musical part, I can see how every year is improving and getting better this course and it is nice. I think the rest of the teachers are excellent and I am very fond of Jean Luc (great man and person). I
Well I wrote more that few words, but to resume I want to congratulate you and every body who has helped you in the success of this years summer school and I hope the future brings more joy, fun and happiness to you and the summer course.
Yours friendly
Inigo Alonso Viribay
Dear Arlette, Dear Agnès,
This was my 4th time in Frensham.
Every year is different: the weather,
the number of students, the teachers, the program, ... All that
may vary except one thing: 15 days of intense work in a very friendly and
congenial atmosphere.
For those who were not with us, here is a summary
of these 15 days.
- The weather: what an English weather! 30° C every
day and 34°C (the highest temperature in record in England) one day. I'll
remember that because of the beautiful "coup de soleil" I have got.
- The swimming pool: thank God there was a swimming
pool; very useful when we got 15 minutes between 2 rehearsals or lessons.
- The pub: not enough time to go to
compare the atmosphere of ALL the pubs around Frensham
- Tea time:"some" times it was preceded
or replaced by cup washing sessions in (men) lavatories.
- The food/ catering: Very good for a diet. I never
ate such a lot vegetables and oranges in 15 days!
- The accommodation: we already knew
that Frenham Heights is not a 4 star hotel but we were very lucky in
the main building: the room was clean, no spider in the shower, and the
must: hot water!
- We’ve got a lot of new friends: wasps. I
don't understand why you invited so many wasps this year, and I
forgot the instrument they played.
Thank you Arlette and Agnès for having managed
that so well for over one hundred people.
Now, I am (back to work) in Paris: 17 °C (hard to believe
that we are in August!), tired but happy to have spent my holidays working
hard with Sarah Pool (classical singing), Letizia Morelli (jazz singing),
Cedric Pytel (percussions), and Edwin Rolles (chamber choir and choir).
See you next year!
Tatiana - Paris
40+ years old (classical and jazz singing,
percussions)
Philippe 40+ piano with Rustem Koudoyarov
Chère
Arlette,
Encore
un fois merci.
Stefano
il est un petit peu fatigué cette année... je crois qu'il a bien vécu ces deux
semaines à Frensham.
Gino est très très content et sa femme aussi.
Marco
est enthousiaste, comme Vittoria.
Je
te dois faire mes compliments pour ce que tu arrive à organiser.
Tout
le monde que j'ai rencontré à Fresham était heureux, même plus que d'habitude
(et c'est difficile!).
Le
voyage à été agréable, pas de problèmes. Je dois dire merci à William, qui
m'a aidé avec la recherche du taxi.
Encore:
Alexander Trostiansky vient jouer à Genova en septembre, mais je ne sais pas où
et quand. Comment pourrais-je faire pour avoir des nouvelles?
Merci
encore pour tout.
Je
tiens beaucoup à ton amitié et a celle d'Alan.
Ciao, un abbraccio
Paolo Musso Main course
Two sons in the main course
02/08/2006
Dear Arlette
Just a little note to thank you for everything at Frensham 2006 –
I
know it was a difficult year for you, with so many people and not enough rooms,
plus
the kitchens being refurbished, but you coped so well and I really appreciated
all the kindness you showed me.
Looking forward to next year already.
Hope you enjoy the rest of the summer - but I think we've
already had the best 2 weeks at Frensham!
Love
Annette Forkin David Bellugi masterclass +Dolmetsch recorder course
Wednesday, 09 August 2006
Chère Arlette,
Vous avez créé un monde à part, en invitant toutes les générations à se
retrouver autour de la musique, du plaisir et du travail, et pour cela nous
vous serons toujours reconnaissants et fidèles a
. Le plus difficile est, comme nous l'avions prévu, de se retrouver dans le
monde "normal".
Quand le DVD sera-t-il prêt?
Et les photos en ligne?
Dr Alexandre-Pierre GASPAR
Wednesday, 09 August
2006
Dear Arlette
The experience of having the three
children
to myself in London for two weeks has reinforced my view that two weeks in
Frensham was a stoke of genius for us.
I'm not suited to sole care of the
house and children by myself!
We had a very, very enjoyable two weeks. It is much more interesting than
having a traditional holiday, and it occupied the children very happily while
giving them exposure to wonderful music and musicians. They moved around
the campus so confidently that it has rather expanded my expectations of
what they can achieve, and they loved being given the sort of independence
, which is impossible in London. Rosie, as you know, led the way in showing
her older brother and sister how to organise her life with almost no reference
to me for two weeks! It was miraculously good timing to be out of London
for the hottest July ever, and the pool was quite wonderful.
I myself enjoyed the two weeks very much as well. It is a wonderful opportunity
to meet new people who come from a rather different world from my own, and
to share their enthusiasm for the music. The course has a very good
atmosphere
, which comes down to your skill and choices in staff.
I hope that the students felt that they had learnt something from their
time with me. John enjoyed the concerts and felt that all three children
had really developed during the two weeks..
You do a magnificent job to put such a scheme together.
You were right to say that it was strange to be back home again - I missed
being in the collegiate atmosphere and did not like having to get back to
shopping, cooking and driving again!
Talk to you soon, best wishes to Alan and the family
love
Romayne Odgers.Campbell
15/08/2006
Cara Arlette,
grazie per tutto quello che hai fatto a Frensham!
Sembrerebbe che ogni anno sia meglio del precedente.
Mi sono divertita molto, ho lavorato moltissimo, ho
perso due chili, ma soprattutto mi è piaciuta la settimana del pre-course
perchè ho molto migliorato il mio inglese insieme a persone molto simpatiche.
Tantissimi saluti a te e ad Alan, e spero proprio di poter
tornare l'anno venturo.
Albertina Del Bo
Cara Arlette,
quest'anno mi sono trovato molto meglio rispetto all'anno
scorso, i compagni erano molto più simpatici.
Il mio inglese ha fatto enormi progressi grazie, in primo
luogo al pre-crasch course.
se posso dare un consiglio, suggerisco, senza far troppo
"l'italiano all'estero", di migliorare la cucina che, verso la
seconda settimana è un po peggiorata, specialmente il breakfast.
le lezioni con rustem sono stupende e musica da
camera è molto divertente.
ti ringrazio e spero di tornare
anche l'anno prossimo.
Arturo. Del Bo
Chère Arlette
un mot un peu tardif pour vous remercier pour avoir accueilli Mathilde, qui a
été absolument ravie à Frensham fin juillet
Elle est revenue enthousiaste sur la musique, l'enseignement, l'ambiance, etc..
et est repartie avec son violoncelle en vacances!
Florence et moi avons également beaucoup apprécié le bouquet final du dernier
week end et la qualité des prestations des élèves comme des professeurs, de la
musique de chambre, comme de l'orchestre
j'espère que Mathilde reviendra l'année prochaine
merci beaucoup
Martin Hirsch
18 August 2006
Dear Arlette, Dear Agnès,
This was my 4th time in Frensham.
Every year is different: the weather,
the number of students, the teachers, the program, ... All that
may vary except one thing: 15 days of intense work in a very friendly and
congenial atmosphere.
For those who were not with us, here is a summary of these
15 days.
- The weather: what an English weather! 30° C every day and
34°C (the highest temperature in record in England) one day. I'll remember that
because of the beautiful "coup de soleil" I have got.
- The swimming pool: thank God there was a swimming pool;
very useful when we got 15 minutes between 2 rehearsals or lessons.
- The pub: not enough time to go to compare the
atmosphere of ALL the pubs around Frensham
- Tea time:"some" times it was preceded or
replaced by washing sessions in (men) lavatories.
- The food/ catering: Very good for a diet. I never ate such
a lot vegetables and oranges in 15 days!
- The accommodation: we already knew that Frenham Heights
is not a 4 star hotel but we were very lucky in the main building: the
room was clean, no spider in the shower, and the must: hot water!
- We’ve got a lot of new friends: wasps. I don't
understand why you invited so many wasps this year, and I forgot the
instrument they played.
Thank you Arlette and Agnès for having managed that so
well for one hundred people.
Now, I am (back to work) in Paris: 17 °C (hard to believe
that we are in August!), tired but happy to have spent my holidays working
hard with Sarah Pool (classical singing), Laetizia Morelli (jazz singing),
Cedric Pytel (percussions), and Edwin Rolles (chamber choir and choir).
See you next year!
Tatiana - Paris
..t(;;;ty years old (classical and jazz singing,
percussions)
21August 2006
Dear Arlette
Now
that the summer is nearly over and we are slowly returning to school again, I
wanted to thank you for organising the wonderful week Connie had the first week
of the above summer camp.
We came to it late and could only manage half the session
but she benefited from it enormously. She came home playing the piano very
differently and having enjoyed her violin experience too. Participating in the
choir and orchestra were new experiences for her at that level because
unfortunately she has not had the chance at school and she thrived!
Connie also enjoyed her French lessons and making new
musical friends very much. All in all a great experience.
Because we left half way through the course, we were unable
to speak to the piano and violin teachers to hear their impressions of Connie.
I am in email correspondence with Monsieur Villard who I would very much like
to speak to. But I do not have any contact details for Monsieur Jean Luc
Borsarello and I would like to hear both their impressions. Can you forward
me email and phone numbers?
With many thanks once again for all your efforts
Regards
Diana
Diana Marshall
23 August 2006
Feed back 2005 as they come
Hi Arlette
Just to say a BIG THANK YOU for
all your organisation in bringing in
together such a fantastic course.
Sarah thoroughly enjoyed herself
and really was sad saying her goodbyes. And also thank you to Alan for his very
careful and kind teaching.
Would you forward me your full
home address, I know Sarah would like to drop you both a note.
In the meantime thank you again
Arlette and look forward to speaking to
you soon.
Kindest regards
CARMEL & SARAH WATTS-TIBBATTS
P.S. WE WILL HAVE A COPY OF ALL THE DVD.'S
I.E. TEACHERS CONCERT, JAZZ,
STUDENTS CONCERT ETC.
carmel@tibbatts.co.uk for
Sarah Watts grade 8- 12 years old violin with J-L Borsarello
Bonjour
Arlette,
Voila, je suis bien rentrée de Frensham.
J'ai laisse David (le violoniste) a la gare du Nord, tout s'est bien passe'
pour lui jusque-là, le train était à l'heure !
J'ai regardé
les photos du stage faites par David et Didier avec Mary, C’est super !! (Je
pense qu'il manque les photos de la 1ere partie du concert des stagiaires je vais lui envoyer un email. du coup on a
aussi regardé' les photos de 2004 !
Merci encore
pour ce très beau stage, qui existe comme il est grâce à ton travail, ton exigence humaine et ta passion pour la
musique.
Amities,
Catherine
PS) Special
thanks to Inigo, Nitzan and William for their outstanding musicality, and for
their quite different ways of getting a student to surpass him(her)self ;-)
Composition with William
Godfree/Cello with Nbitzan Laster
Catherine 40...ish years old
merci
beaucoup pour le site des photos ça fait des très bon souvenir...en tout cas j
ai vraiment adoré ce stage et j espère
Vraiment
pouvoir le refaire l année prochaine...
ces deux
semaines c était vraiment le paradis pour moi! Merci infiniment!
Amélie 15 years old Flute with
Nicola Mazzanti
J’ai passe
beaucoup de temps à regarder les photos...
Gauthier vient
de se pencher sur le site ce soir et parle beaucoup, beaucoup! Ses amis n'ont
pas arreté de venir mais il est encore a Frensham!
Le voyage a été dur avec une attente d'une heure devant le quai sans
pouvoir descendre. Je pense que le tien n'a pas non plus été de tout repos.
J'ai de la musique plein la tête et même si je ne suis restée que 3
jours, il me semble encore une fois que
ç'était agréablement long!
Je ne sais quand je partirai dans les landes car Izzy va peut être venir ces jours ci avec son neveu Primus...
Bref j'ai un peu l'impression que la vie de Gauthier devient très
riche de rencontres et qu'il me faut suivre! ...
J'ai l'impression de ne pas t'avoir assez vue. Il y avait tellement de
choses à faire ! Mais c"est toujours aussi agréable d'être près de toi! Je
suis heureuse pour toi car j'ai l'impression que ce fut vraiment un très bon
stage et ce ne sera sûrement pas le dernier!
amitiés
Marie-Hélène for Gauthier 16 years
old Trumpet with Izidor leitinger and
piano with Vera Müllerova and Gilad Roth
Hello, Musicians,
After a long journey we were safe
home again..
I'd like to say thank you for the nice time I had in the Dolmetsch
Summer School and I was very glad to meet all of you and make such nice music.
Although I couldn't quite relax because of my situation, I had a great time. If
you have any email-addresses from the others or photos, please send them also
to my or Eberhard’s email-address, which is eberhardmichel@freenet.de
. I hope to come again another
year.
Thank you, and best wishes
Lydia
Dolmetsch Recorder
course
Arlette,
Je sais que
Béatrice est en contact avec vous, mais je tenais à vous exprimer directement
ma reconnaissance.
Bravo pour
votre stage 2005 qui nous a laissé une très forte impression: toute la famille
est partante pour l'année prochaine (si bien sûr vous voulez de nous!).
Ci-joint un
moment de musique concocté par Karl et Sarah
(Quicktime movie). Encore une fois merci pour la qualité de votre
organisation et votre approche humaine, libre mais clairvoyante, des petits
mais aussi des plus grands.
Et bien sûr
tous mes remerciements à Alan pour son attention et sa gentillesse.
Alexandre-Pierre
GASPAR. (for Karl 18 Composition with William Godfree and Helena Flute 17 with
Nicola Mazzanti )
Cara Arlette,
Il corso di Frensham è un evento particolare nel mondo degli stage estivi
che possiamo offrire ai nostri figli adolescenti e giovani nel periodo delle
vacanze. E' la realizzazione straordinaria di un'intuizione geniale di Arlette
Herrenschmidt: passare due settimane nel segno della gioia di vivere, guidati
dall'amore per la musica, dalla voglia di conoscere persone diverse da sè, in
un posto di rara bellezza.
Arlette ha saputo creare i presupposti affinchè i giovani ospiti di Frensham
possano lavorare intensamente e con grande profitto divertendosi molto.
Sono affidati a docenti eccezionali da
un punto di vista umano e professionale: dividono con i propri allievi
praticamente tutte le 24 ore del giorno, coinvolgendoli nello studio tecnico e
nell'interpretazione del linguaggio musicale, ma anche giocando con loro e
dividendo le ore dei pasti e del riposo (poco). I risultati alla fine sono
eccellenti: i ragazzi spesso imparano più in questi 15 giorni intensivi che in
mesi a casa propria.
L'offerta musicale è amplissima, e
spazia dal classico al jazz, dai canti corali alla musica da camera. Alain
Moller organizza e sorveglia la parte relativa alle lezioni di lingua
straniera, in particolare l'inglese, avvalendosi di collaboratrici esperte: una
garanzia di migliorare le proprie conoscenze in materia.
L'ambiente internazionale dello stage è uno degli aspetti più coinvolgenti:
musicisti provenienti da paesi diversi tra loro e con esperienza didattica e
culturale differente, con ragazzi inglesi, francesi, italiani, turchi e
coreani: una meraviglia, un inno alla tolleranza in tempi difficili.
Infine la scelta del posto è tra
le più felici: nella campagna inglese, in una villa antica immersa nel verde, con
una struttura efficiente e collaudata; le fotografie del sito non rendono
giustizia alla bellezza di Frensham Heights, vedere per credere.
Sono tre anni che iscrivo mio figlio al corso: ogni anno Stefano è sempre più
contento e ripete che è il più bel regalo che possa fargli. Da parte mia,
attendo con ansia i tre giorni di vacanza che mi concedo quando vado a
prenderlo: è per me un raro piacere ascoltare della buona musica in un ambiente
straordinario, in compagnia di persone prezione che imparo ad apprezzare ogni
anno di più.
Paolo Musso for
Stefano 15 years old piano with Vera Müllerova
musso.pa@aliceposta.it
Bonjour Arlette,
Thank you very much for all the organization of the course in Frensham !
J'ai passé 2 semaines géniales !
Alors
concernant mes cours de violon avec Alexander : il m'a appris plein de chose
très utiles et j'ai eu beaucoup de plaisir à aller à ses
cours ! C'est vraiment un très grand violoniste ! J'ai aussi vraiment
adoré la musique de chambre : c'était aussi Alexander qui nous supervisait : il
nous a transmis une sensibilité pour l'interprétation de
notre trio. Par contre le seul regret que j'ai, est que ces 2 semaines ont
passé trop vite :-).
Ce n'est
qu'à la fin du stage que l'on a réalisé avec quelques autres stagiaires que
l'on aurait pu faire encore des duos
ou d'autres ensembles avec d'autres instruments. Mais on sait que l'on aurait
de toute façon pas eu le temps de tout faire.
Céline Miserez 18 year old violin with Alexander Trostiansky
London 22 January 2007
Dear Arlette - a very very late but still honest thank you
for the course we did in the summer. It was a very rewarding week for all
of us, and also very interesting. I hope that you had a good two weeks
and also had a well deserved rest afterwards………………..
……………………… ………………………………………………………………………………..
I am thinking hard about the idea of returning next year, At the moment, with
Rosie just starting school, I don't know what I will be doing by then ……It was
a very good and interesting course which you run, and I certainly enjoyed
myself,
Best wishes
Romayne.38….ish Vocal jazz
Hester 9 years old cello Peter Pan Course
James 7 years old recorder Peter Pan Course
and Rosie 4 years old violin Peter Pan Course
Wednesday, 28 September 2005
Cara Arlette,
il soggiorno a Frensham è stato
fantastico! Mi piace rivedere nelle fotografie la casa (che subito mi ha
ricordato il castello di Hogwards di Harry Potter), la meravigliosa vista dalla
mia camera sulla campagna e la splendida Ball Room delle prove d’orchestra e
dei concerti.
Era
bellissimo sentire la musica dappertutto e parlare di musica (e non solo di
quello) con le mie amiche Sarah e Defne provando con loro i pezzi di violino in
camera. Così il mio inglese ha avuto grandi progressi.
Bravi davvero
i miei maestri-amici Vera e Jean-Luc che spero di ritrovare l’anno venturo.
Ringrazio te e Allan per l’idea
bellissima che avete avuto e per come riuscite a organizzare tutto.
Non vedo
l’ora di tornare a Frensham l’anno prossimo!
Un caro
saluto
Albertina Del Bo 12 years old violin and piano
Cara Arlette,
nonostante i problemi
avuti con i compagni di stanza mi sono divertito un sacco. Ricordo le lotte in
piscina con il mio simpatico maestro Rustem.
Il nuovo sport del biliardo mi ha molto
divertito e mi ha fatto conoscere e diventare amico di Nitzan, grande maestro
di violoncello e di biliardo!
I concerti
finali sono stati belli e divertenti e rimpiango ancora le buone colazioni con
bacon and eggs e salsicce e funghi, e la stupenda musica che si sentiva
attraversando il musikblock.
Il giardino
era stupendo e l’enorme palazzo ricordava Hogwards. Non vedo l’ora di tornare
l’anno prossimo e provare un nuovo strumento per avere l’ebbrezza di suonare
nell’orchestra.
Ho fatto
grandi progressi nell’inglese e ora riesco finalmente a comunicare.
Un caro
saluto a te e Allan
Arturo del Bo piano
VIth
Frensham Heights Musical Summer course
Feedback from the course 2003…as they arrive
The regular LMFL's Course
Hi Arlet,
I think we can all say that this course was a success!!!
I have personally spent a wonderful time working there and
enjoyed the atmosphere and harmony between the people.
The teachers and students concerts were great and I return
home with a lot of energy and rich emotions.
Thank you for bringing all that together
Letizia
Absolutely Fantastic!!
Dear Arlette and Alan
Thank you so much for inviting us to last evening's
concert at Frensham. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience and thought
playing of all the musicians was superb.
……………. Sincere
regards and again a big 'Thank you'
Carolyn and John (Surrey.U.K)
Dear Arlette,
Maria and Carla arrived so happy....! Thanks for
this wonderful experience that you facilitaded to Maria. Rosa and me are very
glad seing Maria so engaged with music and with musicians from around the
world. It is so valuable!
Warm grettings to you and Alan
Ramon (Barcelonna)
Hello my dear!
Coming back to Berlin everything is so boring, nobody sings with me - and I´d prefere to go back to Frensham.
This year was just wonderful and I want to thank
you for all the energy you put in this project, that gives all participants so
much joy. …………
But Frensham gave me a little more power, took me
away from my everyday life and I am already longing for next year!!!
Lots of love,
Sandra (Berlin)
……….I really enjoyed the course
this year, maybe even more than last year. I
felt less shocked by what I had to do, met some really nice people, enjoyed
all the students, and learnt how *not* to play the trumpet!! I think the
whole thing was a great success. Several people said to me they thought it
was a vintage year!
Stephanie
(Bristol)
Chère Arlette,
Je vous
remercie encore pour ces superbes jours passés à Frensham ; comme l'année
dernière, j'ai
beaucoup
apprécié le stage. Tout de suite après, je suis allée visiter l'Irlande pendant
quinze jours ! Quel merveilleux pays, vert et pluvieux !
Au sujet des
écoles dont nous avons parlé, s'il vous est possible de m'envoyer les noms
exacts et les coordonnés, je pense que ça me sera très utile.
Dans l'attente
de vos nouvelles, je vous adresse mes plus amicales et musicales pensées……
Elodie Bosquet
(Nice France)
Dear LMFL
I am still quite amazed by the two week course: such an
incredible atmosphere: a mixture of people rushing from one session to another one
… the feeling that all are running and that all want to do it all: one to one
session, chamber music, orchestra, choir and the discovering of jazz for some
of us.
The younger ones being shepherded into their bedroom at the
allocated time by the best prefects one could dream of despite their
frustration and protests…. And yet they were not resentful the next day even
though I remember that some Spanish and British teenagers found it difficult to
accept.
Going to Arlett's office was quite a moment: there you found
fresh fruits, lovely French wine, photocopier, fresh coffee, internet, tel,
medicines and always a large bunch of people ready for a friendly chat in
Italian, English, French, Spanish or Russian simultaneously –not that I could
understand all of it (teachers and
students alike) the mixture of ages was a new experiment for me and I was
amazed to see how harmonious it was.
The quality and dedication of the teachers was a very high
point and the chamber music organized by Jean-Luc Borsarello was very
imaginative: he adapted to all circumstances!
2 weeks of happiness..Thanks a million
Mary 35 years old
Dear Arlette,
I know it's been a long time since the music
course, but I've been really busy these last 3 months and I couldn't write you
before... I just wanted to thank you for the experience: I had a wonderful
time, as usual! Carla had a great time too and we're thinking about coming
again next year. We both arrived really excited and now we keep in touch with
some of the friends that we met there.
Thank you so much for organising this wonderful
course!
Maria
Riera (17 years old, Barcelona)
29/10/2003
The new addition to the
LMFL's Course: The Dolmetsch Summer school
(second week)
|
Subj: |
Dolmetsch
Summer School Report |
|
Date: |
07/08/2003
07:38:09 GMT Daylight Time |
|
From: |
Now that I returned from my holidays and the DSS 2003, here is
my
report:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dolmetsch Summer School 2003 Report
By Sven Hoja
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The Facts
The DSS 2003 took place at Frensham Heights, an Edwardian country house,
situated near Farnham in the lovely countryside of Surrey southwest of London.
For the first time it wasn't organised by the Dolmetsch company itself, but
under the auspices of the "6th Musical Summer at Frensham Heights",
arranged by LMFL.
The Manor usually
serves as a boarding school and offers a lot of facilities for musical
activities including a nice concert hall and a brand new "Music
Block" building with rooms for rehearsal, preparation and performance. The
accommodation could not quite match that standard, and some of the participants
obviously expected more than the rather old-fashioned boarding school
conditions.
The course started on Sunday, July 20th with some 35 recorder players, most of
them from the UK, but there were players from the Netherlands, Ireland, France,
Germany, Italy, Canada and even Japan as well.
With students aged from 10 to 70+, mostly of astonishing
high abilities, the different courses were well visited. From breakfast to
lunch, three recorder technique classes were offered: a middle intermediate
class tutored by Marguerite Dolmetsch, a higher intermediate class with Rachel
Gregory and an advanced class with Jeanne Dolmetsch and David Bellugi.
The afternoon was reserved for ensemble classes and the recorder orchestra.
Whereas the technical lessons had been prepared by the players beforehand, the
ensemble and orchestra pieces were played
from sight. Unfortunately, Denis Bloodworth was unable to conduct the
orchestra due to illness. So Dolmetsch's Dr. Blood had to stand in.
The orchestra suffered a bit from a lack of big instruments: Only one player
had taken the burden of bringing a great bass; more great or even contra basses
would have been appreciated.
In addition to the recorder courses, a viol class was offered by Dolmetsch, and
those who wanted to sing were allowed to join the LMFL choir.
Dr. Blood ran a small shop with a selection of fine Dolmetsch recorders and
various music from solo to multi-choir pieces of all
times including some interesting contemporary pieces. The daily time table
ended with dinner, but thanks to the fact that
most of the school's facilities were open to the musicians even afterwards,
some took the opportunity to play on their own in
spontaneously formed groups.
Due to the fine weather, spare time could be spent in the school's swimming
pool, with a walk through the lovely surroundings or a visit at the pubs in the
neighbouring village of Rowledge. From
Wednesday on, the LMFL offered numerous evening concerts of their vocal,
orchestral and Jazz classes, partly in the stylish ambience of the main
building's ball room.
The course ended with short concerts from each technique class on Saturday,
July 26th.
2. My personal impressions
As a first-time participant, I have to admit that my expectations were at least
met, if not exceeded. From a musical point of view, I got a lot of inspirations
from the absolutely charming Marguerite Dolmetsch and much fun from playing in
lively Rachel Gregory's ensembles, not to forget an impressing rehearsal of a
12-part Gabrieli piece conducted by the fabulous David Bellugi.
Meeting all the Dolmetsch- and LMFL-people, including renowned tutors, from
about 15 different countries in an open and friendly ambience was absolutely amazing
and very enjoyable for me. The minor drawbacks concerning accommodation and
organizational frictions were clearly outweighed by this experience. After all,
there were rumours that next time biscuits will be offered with the afternoon
tea ;-)
All in all, I won't hesitate to recommend this event to every recorder player
who wants to get new ideas and inspirations. One restriction: Rating myself as
a grade 4 to 5-player, I was rather challenged by some of the music and the
tutor's demands. To get a real benefit from the courses, grade 4 abilities
should at least be met.
3. Further information
Thanks to the internet, further information is easily accessible on the
following websites:
Dolmetsch: www.dolmetsch.com
LMFL: www.lmfl.com
Lots of photos:
And of course I'm comfortable with answering any questions. Feel free to
contact me directly: hoja@ib-wesemann.de
4. Special thanks
I like to thank all people who made the DSS 2003 such a wonderful and
great week, in particular:
- Keith for his patience with a rather mediocre recorder player,
- Liz for lots of fun with her 'sainted' Gb and English history,
- Norman for keeping the count of the bass section and travel reports,
- Mitsuru for being a fine recorder player and a great companion,
- Gronia for introductions to British beer and Irish literature,
- Alan for an exclusive tour of the premises and taxi services,
- Arlette for a warm welcome, social meetings and distinguished drinks,
- Paolo for inviting me to his birthday party,
- and last but not least Brian, not only for valuable insights into his
dressing habits... ;-)
Hope to see you all again!
Sven (over 40years old German)
Hello
How are you?
I am fine but my holidays are
quite finished….lessons, boarding and music (at least!)
So this is a very big thank you to
give us all the opportunity to share a time of happiness and exchanges around
music and languages
I have only one goal to come back
to Frensham as soon as possible because thanks to the heartfelt atmosphere and
the warm ambiance I got the impression that I now belong to a new family
Thanks again and I hope I'm going
to see you again
Lots if kisses
Flora (flute and recorder) 12
years old French
Letters and feedback from participants formers
years
2002
maijoucla@yahoo.com
Bonjour Arlette !
Merci beaucoup encore pour ce
stage formidable !! je ne m’en suis toujours pas vraiment remise moralement…
:-)
j’ai vraiment passé un très bon moment et la musique, l’ambiance
et les gens que j’y ai rencontrés me manquent beaucoup !
A bientôt !
Maïlys Joucla voice tuition
Arlett et Agnes,
Si les
teen agers -comme vous les appelez- peuvent dire merci Papa et merci Maman,
nous dirons plutôt merci Arlette pour les 15 jours passés à Frensham.
Avant de quitter l'Angleterre,
nous avons passé qques heures à Londres : au Royal Festival Hall (c'était
climatisé!) puis direction Bond Street pour acheter des partitions au magasin
Chappell.
La rentrée à Paris a été un peu difficile
(chaleur et pollution); aussi garderons-nous en tête le plus longtemps possible
les images de gens aimables et souriants, ainsi que les sons des rires des
chansons et autre musique...
Ce n'est pas très facile de démarrer la rentrée en étant fatigués mais j'aime ce type de vacances!